Known from the prior art are a plurality of seat arrangements, which comprise a vehicle seat, which may be displaced both in the longitudinal direction and in the transverse direction of the automobile. For this purpose, the known seat arrangements have longitudinal guides and transverse guides, which extend in the longitudinal direction or in the transverse direction of the automobile.
Thus, DE 41 10 998 C2 discloses a seat arrangement comprising a vehicle seat, which is disposed displaceably in the longitudinal direction on two longitudinal guides. In this case, the two longitudinal guides are formed by a pair of rails in each case, which extend in the longitudinal direction of the automobile or in the seat direction of the vehicle seat. The two longitudinal guides are in turn disposed transversely displaceably on two transverse guides, which are disposed underneath the longitudinal guides and are connected to the floor panel of the automobile. The transverse guides are in turn each composed of a pair of rails, which extend in the transverse direction of the automobile. The known seat arrangement has the disadvantage inter alia that the rear region below the vehicle seat, which forms the foot well for the passengers on the rear seat row, is restricted by the transverse guides fastened to the floor panel.
EP 0 940 288 B1 discloses a seat arrangement, which substantially has the same structure as the previously described seat arrangement, i.e. the seat arrangement comprises a vehicle seat, which may be displaced over two longitudinal guides in the longitudinal direction and over two transverse guides in the transverse direction of the automobile, the longitudinal guides being guided in the transverse direction on the transverse guides. In contrast to the previously described seat arrangement, however, the transverse guides are disposed within a recess in the floor panel, which likewise extends in the transverse direction. Consequently, the foot well for the passengers on a row of seats located there behind is not so severely restricted as is the case in the previously described prior art. Nevertheless, the handling of this seat arrangement, in particular when shifting the vehicle seat, is likewise difficult.
A further seat arrangement is described in EP 1 140 554 B1. In the known seat arrangement, two longitudinal rails are let into the vehicle floor, which at their rear end go over into two transverse rails, likewise let into the vehicle floor. The relevant vehicle seat has two base elements, at which downwardly pointing connecting parts are provided. The connecting parts engage in the rails let in the vehicle floor, so that the vehicle seat may be displaced along the longitudinal rails in the longitudinal direction of the automobile and along the transverse rails in the transverse direction of the automobile. The handling of this vehicle seat is also difficult since the vehicle seat must first be displaced along the longitudinal rails in the longitudinal direction into its rearmost position so that the connecting parts engage in the transverse rails. Only then is a transverse displacement along the transverse rails possible, i.e. in order to displace the seat in the longitudinal and transverse direction, the seat must first be displaced in the longitudinal direction and then in the transverse direction.
It is therefore at least one object to provide a seat arrangement for an automobile comprising a vehicle seat, a longitudinal guide, and a transverse guide, which ensures particularly simple, rapid, and convenient handling when shifting the vehicle seat. In addition, other objects, desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.
The seat arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention is designed for an automobile and comprises a vehicle seat, which preferably comprises a vehicle seat which is disposed in a seat row, which is disposed in front of a further seat row. At least one longitudinal guide for displacement of the vehicle seat in the longitudinal direction and at least one transverse guide for displacement of the vehicle seat in the transverse direction is provided. The longitudinal and transverse direction is preferably to be understood as the longitudinal and transverse direction of the vehicle seat, and the longitudinal and transverse direction of the vehicle seat preferably also corresponds to the longitudinal and transverse direction of the automobile.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a forced guidance is furthermore provided, this being configured in such a manner that the vehicle seat is automatically displaced in the transverse or longitudinal direction during displacement in the longitudinal or transverse direction. This means that during displacement in the longitudinal direction, the vehicle seat is automatically also displaced in the transverse direction and during displacement in the transverse direction, the vehicle seat is automatically also displaced in the longitudinal direction.
The embodiments of invention on the one hand have the advantage that the vehicle seat need not necessarily be displaced firstly in the longitudinal direction in order to only then be able to displace it in the transverse direction. Furthermore, due to the forced guidance, it is ensured that the vehicle seat may be displaced safely and specifically into a predetermined position. The latter is not ensured in a seat arrangement comprising a vehicle seat which allows a free displacement both in the longitudinal and in the transverse direction. The seat arrangement according to the invention is therefore particularly suitable for vehicle seats inside an automobile, in which the space relationships are restricted in such a manner that the vehicle seat may otherwise occupy only a small number of predetermined positions.
In a preferred embodiment of the seat arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention, the forced guidance is configured in the manner of a sliding block guide.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the seat arrangement, the forced guidance comprises, on the one hand, a guide groove which is configured as fixed to the vehicle or fixed to the seat and on the other hand, comprises a guide part guided in the guide groove, which is configured as fixed to the vehicle or fixed to the seat. This means that a guide part fixed to the seat would be assigned to a guide groove fixed to the vehicle and a guide part fixed to the vehicle would be assigned to a guide groove fixed to the seat. Due to the guide groove and the relevant guide part, a particularly simple forced guidance in the manner of a sliding block guide is created, which ensures reliable guidance of the vehicle seat into the predetermined positions.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the seat arrangement, the guide groove comprises at least one inclined section, which extends transverse to the longitudinal direction and also transverse to the transverse direction. Due to the inclined section, a displacement of the vehicle seat in the longitudinal or transverse direction can be automatically coupled with a displacement of the vehicle seat in the transverse or longitudinal direction.
In an advantageous embodiment of the seat arrangement, the inclined section extends at an angle between about 0° and about 90° transverse to the longitudinal direction. In order to allow a movement sequence of the vehicle seat that is as flowing as possible, this angle between the inclined section and the longitudinal direction is preferably about 45°.
In order not to couple a longitudinal displacement of the vehicle seat to a transverse displacement of the vehicle seat in every position of the vehicle seat, the guide groove further comprises a first section, which extends exclusively in the longitudinal direction. In this way, a simple and reliable displacement of the vehicle seat in the longitudinal direction is possible without needing to pay attention to its unintentional displacement in the transverse direction.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the seat arrangement, the first section is disposed in front of the inclined section in the direction of travel. Consequently, the longitudinal displacement is only coupled to a transverse displacement when the vehicle seat is already located in a rear position and is displaced from this rear position further rearward in the longitudinal direction.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the seat arrangement, the guide groove furthermore comprises a second section, which extends exclusively in the longitudinal direction. With regard to the advantages of such a second section, reference is made to the preceding description of the first section.
In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the seat arrangement, the second section is disposed after the inclined section in the direction opposite to the direction of travel. Thus, the inclined section is again followed by a section along which the vehicle seat may again only be displaced in the longitudinal direction.
In a further particularly preferred embodiment of the seat arrangement, the inclined section of the guide groove extends transverse to the longitudinal direction in such a manner that during a displacement in the longitudinal direction, the vehicle seat is automatically displaced rearward in the direction of the vehicle center. This embodiment is particularly suitable for a vehicle seat, which may be displaced from a front region of the vehicle interior into a rear region of the same, the rear region of the vehicle interior having a smaller width, for example, due to inwardly projecting wheel cases. The position of the vehicle seat is thus adapted automatically and in a collision-free manner during displacement into the rear region, so that the handling during displacement of the vehicle seat is particularly simple.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the seat arrangement, the vehicle seat may be automatically locked at predetermined locking distances in the longitudinal and transverse direction. Such locking distances can, for example, be one centimeter. The automatic locking at predetermined locking distances simplifies the positioning and locking of the vehicle seat in the desired position.
In order to be able to bring the vehicle seat into the desired position as rapidly as possible, in a further advantageous embodiment of the seat arrangement, an actuating means is provided for releasing the locking. For example, there may be provided an actuating means which allows no automatic locking at predetermined locking distances as long as it is actuated. When the desired position of the vehicle seat is reached, the actuating means may be released to then again allow locking at the predetermined locking distances.
In order not to unnecessarily restrict the foot well for the passengers on the seat row located behind the vehicle seat, in a further advantageous embodiment of the seat arrangement, the vehicle seat is disposed displaceably in the longitudinal direction on the longitudinal guide whereas the longitudinal guide is disposed displaceably in the transverse direction on the transverse guide. The transverse guide is therefore disposed underneath the longitudinal guide on the vehicle floor.
In order to further eliminate any reduction in the size of the foot well underneath the vehicle seat, in a further preferred embodiment of the seat arrangement, the transverse guide is disposed in a recess in the vehicle floor.
In order to further increase the previously specified advantage, in a further particularly preferred embodiment of the seat arrangement, the transverse guide is disposed in the recess in such a manner that the upper side of the transverse guide is disposed in a plane with the upper side of the vehicle floor. In this way, any collision between the feet of the passenger on the rear seat row with the transverse guide may be avoided when the feet are inserted into the foot well below the vehicle seat.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the seat arrangement, a carpet flooring is disposed on the vehicle floor, which flooring extends over the transverse guide in the recess. In this way, on the one hand, contamination of the transverse guide is prevented while on the other hand, undesirable catching of the passenger's feet in the transverse guide is eliminated.
In order to allow a transverse displacement of the longitudinal guide or the vehicle seat despite the carpet flooring, in a further advantageous embodiment of the seat arrangement, the carpet flooring has a slot, which extends above the transverse guide in the transverse direction. The connecting part between the transverse guide and the longitudinal guide can thus extend through the slot and expand these into the corresponding positions. The transverse displacement is not impeded by this means.